Patna/New Delhi, Feb 8
The crisis in Bihar's
ruling JD-U deepened further Sunday, as a defiant Chief Minister Jitan
Ram Manjhi asserted he will not resign, while the rival camp led by
Nitish Kumar decided to parade legislators at Raj Bhavan Monday and
stake claim to power.
Manjhi, who was hand-picked by then chief
minister Nitish Kumar as his replacement last year after the Janata
Dal-United's rout in the Lok Sabha polls, has refused to quit.
In
New Delhi to attend the NITI Aayog meeting Sunday, Manjhi also called
on Prime Minister Narendra Modi but said no politics were discussed in
the meeting which lasted 40 minutes.
Addressing a press
conference afterwards, he said: "I did not discuss politics with him.
Modiji has done some good work for Bihar and we thanked him for that."
Manjhi said he will prove his majority in the assembly Feb 20, and step down only if he fails.
"On
the floor, whoever gives us support we will take it. I will not resign
from the chief minister's post," he said, adding: "They (JD-U) had this
misunderstanding that they will make me do whatever they want me to do".
He termed Nitish Kumar "power hungry and said he showed his real face when he humiliated him, a Mahadalit.
In
response, JD-U spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told IANS that Manjhi was
speaking the language of the Bharatiya Janata Party by attacking Nitish
Kumar, who picked him up for the top post.
"Manjhi has forgotten that he was nominated by Nitish Kumar," he said.
JD-U's
Bihar unit president Vashsisht Narain Singh told IANS that his party
would form a new government in the state under Nitish Kumar's leadership
with the backing of the Congress and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata
Dal.
"We will parade 130 MLAs, including those of the Congress and the RJD, before the governor on Monday," he said.
The JD-U has 115 legislators in the 243-member assembly, most of whom are reportedly with Nitish Kumar.
The
party is backed by 24 legislators of the RJD, five of the Congress, one
from the Communist Party of India and two independents, making it a
total of 147 -- more than the 122 needed for simple majority.
Manjhi
enjoys the support of over a dozen JD-U legislators. He is banking on
the support of the BJP, which has openly come out in his favour. The BJP
has 88 legislators and it supported by three independents.
JD-U president Sharad Yadav, in a letter in Manjhi, has asked the chief minister to resign.
Yadav
said that as Manjhi no longer enjoyed the support of majority of party
legislators and the legislature party has re-elected Nitish Kumar as its
leader, he should resign.
Earlier, the JD-U legislators
submitted letters of support for Nitish Kumar to Governor Keshri Nath
Tripathi staking claim to form the government.
Abdul Bari Siddiqui of the RJD and Sadanand Singh of the Congress also submitted letters of support for Nitish Kumar.
"We
have staked claim to form the next government," Sadanand Singh told the
media. "There is a list of over 130 legislators out of the 243 in
support of Nitish Kumar."
The governor should invite Nitish Kumar
to form the government, he said, adding: "Any delay to invite Nitish
Kumar will encourage horse-trading."
Tripathi is currently in
Kolkata as he is also the West Bengal governor. He is likely to reach
Patna late Sunday or Monday, officials said.
Meanwhile, JD-U
leaders hit out at Manjhi, accusing him of playing into the hands of the
BJP to harm the party ahead of the assembly elections to be held later
this year.
"The BJP is behind whatever Manjhi is doing," JD-U national general secretary K.C. Tyagi said.
Vashsisht Narain Singh added: "The BJP is taking advantage of Manjhi's lust for power."
